DALLAS (FWAA) – Kent State's Antwan Dixon
is this week's nominee for the 2018 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA
Courage Award. Dixon, a junior, missed the past two seasons because
of aplastic anemia, a blood disorder that required a life-saving
bone marrow transplant. He had led the team with 355 receiving yards
as a freshman in 2015.

Dixon

"I wish I could have stayed healthy and played the next year,
too," Dixon told The Athletic. "It would have been a really good
year coming off a good freshman year. But everything happens for
a reason."

Dixon caught six passes for 36 yards in the Golden Flashes' loss
Saturday to Ohio. He has 25 catches this season for 234 yards and
one touchdown.

Dixon has spent the past five years battling the disease, undergoing
blood transfusions and taking medication to get things under control.
He missed his junior year of high school and the last game of his
freshman year at Kent State, having to return home to Fort Myers,
Fla. Dixon underwent a bone marrow transplant in 2017. He returned
to Kent State in January but was not cleared to play until the summer.

The Courage Award was first presented by the Football Writers
Association of America (FWAA) in 2002. A select group of writers
from the FWAA vote on the winner each year. The requirements for
nomination include displaying courage on or off the field, including
overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster
or living through hardship. The winner of the award will be included
in festivities during Capital One Orange Bowl week and receive his
trophy at an on-field presentation.

About the Orange BowlThe Orange Bowl is
a 360-member, primarily-volunteer non-profit sports organization
that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary
mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida
through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained
a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange
Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth
sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and
scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round
schedule of events culminating with the College Football Playoff
Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 29, 2018. For
more information on the 2018-19 Orange Bowl events, including promotional
and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented
by Panera Bread, log on to
orangebowl.org.
Follow Orange Bowl:
@OrangeBowl,
Facebook
and
Instagram.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com.